Letters of Love (Lessons in Love) by Clarissa Carlyle Page B

count.”
    “Yeah.” Alex was lost in his eyes, his eyes which were as deep and mysterious as an ocean.
    “Like I said, I’m destined to die, so are you, it’s what we do when we are alive that counts. I want to be remembered for all the great things I did, not for how much money I made.” Oscar continued on his idealistic lament.
    Standing before him , Alex recalled a conversation she’d overheard in the weeks following her father’s death. Her mother had been at the kitchen table in their old home, surrounded by bone china plates and a top-of-the-range cooker.
    Jackie Heron sat nursing a cup of coffee , which had long since gone cold. Across from her sat her close friend Marie Shrouder, who lived in a house equally as beautiful.
    “It’s just none of this, none of this matters,” Jackie had said tearfully, gesturing to the room around them.
    “He worked himself so hard, and now I’m going to lose everything anyway.” She glanced down sadly at her cold coffee, unaware that a few feet away a young Alex sat on their large wooden staircase, leaning against the elaborate wooden spindles, hanging on her mother’s every word, which carried up to her.
    “But I’d give it all up, every last bit of it, just to have him back. Nothing matters but him, and I can’t tell him that.” Jackie’s tears intensified to sobs , and a young Alex struggled to understand what her mother meant. They had a beautiful home, full of beautiful things, why would they ever choose to give it up?
    But now, standing before Oscar, Alex completely understood what her mother meant. The trappings of their life didn’t matter. What mattered was the love that they shared. Even though living in a trailer was hard, the love Jackie Heron felt for her children had only intensified. They still had each other , and that in itself was priceless.
    “You matter to me,” Alex told Oscar as her eyes grew misty.
    “And you matter to me.” Oscar discarded his newly lit cigarette and pulled Alex in for a deep, passionate kiss. A kiss that started as tender and loving began to quickly develop into something else.
    They parted , breathing heavily, and Oscar drew Alex closer and whispered in her ear. “It really turns me on when you talk like that, when you quote my Gekko theory.” His breath was hot and heavy against Alex’s skin, and it made her whole body tingle with suspense.
    “My roommate is out all day . Let’s go back to my dorm room where we can spend all day in bed,” Oscar suggested seductively.
    “I’ve got class,” Alex cited lamely, already feeling her body bend to his will.
    “You can either go and sit in class and learn lame, boring information or you can come and get in my bed, where I’ll use my tongue to make you see stars all over again.”
    Needing no further convincing , Alex let Oscar take her hand and guide her away from the main campus buildings, towards his dorm building. Her previous enthusiasm for a day of learning had evaporated against the heat of her own desires.
     
    ****
     
    Hours later, as Alex lay in Oscar’s bed and listened to the Radiohead CD he’d put on, her mind began to wander back to the moment that morning when he’d called her as she headed over to class. It seemed too much of a coincidence that he’d just been there at that time, when he didn’t have class himself. She began to wonder if it was no accident that she’d ended up in his bed all day, that he’d had that intention all along, that their whole conversation had been premeditated.
    But Alex was unable to dwell on the thought for too long as her lack of sleep caught up with her , and she fell into a pleasant slumber, all thoughts about missed classes and planned conversations fell from her mind in place of the beautiful coolness of sleep.
     
    ****
     
    Alex eyed the white envelope cautiously. It stared up at her accusingly from the carpeted floor, having previously been pushed under her bedroom door, her name neatly typed on the front.